The Greek Word for Love

by Rhys Everly

Never have I ever… kissed another guy

Jimmy’s content with his Greek life.
He’s got his dad, a job and the best friends in the world.

Until Ren lands straight into his heart.

The English exchange student couldn’t be more different than Jimmy.
He’s happy, carefree, and unreserved.
And Jimmy can’t stop feeling some kind of way around him.

A dangerous way.

A way he hasn’t ever allowed himself to feel before.

Never have I ever wanted to kiss another guy

The Greek Word for Love is a slow-burn, friends-to-lovers, coming out, new adult romance set against the backdrop of a chilled, Mediterranean city.

Genres: M M Romance, LGBT, Friends To Lovers

300 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 31, 2018

About the author

Rhys Everly-Lawless is a hopeless romantic who loves happily-ever-afters.
Which would explain why he loves writing them.

When he's not passionately typing out his next book, you can find him cuddling his dog, feeding his husband, or taking long walks letting those plot bunnies breed ferociously in his head.

He writes contemporary gay romances as Rhys Everly and LGBTQ+ urban fantasy and paranormal romances as Rhys Lawless.

You can find him and all his latest projects on rhyswritesromance.com

Reviews

[Marko Mravunac · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Oh, my God! This is so good. Where has this been all my life? - Right here. In Thessaloniki."

Cool book I stumbled upon the day before my trip to Thessaloniki that I then just had to read there. While the story really wasn't all that good because of all the sappiness, and don't even get me started on that ending, I still enjoyed this because it was a quick summer read, I was walking the same streets as the characters and I learned more about Thessaloniki then I did from various guides so it was a win-win situation!

[Stavro · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very fun read from start to finish. As a Greek, I related to Jimmy immensely. Definitely felt the struggles.

It was nice to see a story like this set in Greece. The story was sweet, the MC's were fun. Loved Jimmy's friends(could hear everyones accent in my head lol).

Good read and would recommend.

Wish I was in Greece right now! Also I'm craving a Gyro and Bougatsa lol.

[Derek Fleming · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book! Wonderful young adult characters and storyline… definitely was rooting for the main characters! Very much enjoyed the development of their relationship and that of their friends. Yes. Yes. Yes.

[Bruce · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ren Thomas is the recipient of an Erasmus scholarship at university in the city of Thessaloniki, Greece. While there, he is introduced to Jimmy Aristiadis, a fellow student at the university he attends. Jimmy's obligation to the school is to show Ren around and make his stay in Greece more comfortable. What he doesn't expect is for his attraction for the English man to ignite a fire in his soul - feelings that he, up to now, has been able to bury deep in his sub-conscious. Ren, conversely, falls for the gorgeous, muscular Greek - and all the way cursing himself for his weakness of falling for a straight guy.
I found The Greek Word For Love to be an exceptionally well-written and entertaining novel. Ren and Jimmy are introduced by rather odd means, but the attraction between them is instant. The main theme of Jimmy's coming out is compounded by Ren's nationality, and how his culture is perceived by the Greek populace. Happily, true love always finds a way... although getting there is a battle.
The plot is mesmerizing, and the secondary characters - a.k.a. Jimmy's friends - are absolutely indispensable. They demonstrate such a wonderful sense of unselfish love and family to both Jimmy and Ren and help the guys to see that what they have is worth all the hassle.
A really charming and sweet romance!! 5 stars!

[Janet Hunt · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Greek Word for Love is a well written story that the pacing will hook you. The story engaged me and I struggled to put it down. Loved Ren and Jimmy! Ren receives a scholarship and ends up in Thessaloniki in Greece. There he meets his contact Jimmy who is a fellow student and his friends. I freakin loved Jimmy’s friends, they were wonderful and so funny!! They were unselfish and just wanted Jimmy to be happy. Ren has always known he was gay, but Jimmy has been hiding it his whole life. It’s not quite illegal, recently became legal within the story line and time frame, but it’s definitely frowned upon. There were some homophobic slurs within the story that honestly felt all too realistic. Overall a fantastic read!! Well done!!

[Anne · Rating 3 out of 5]

I struggled with this book which is so different to previous books I have read by Rhys Everly. I almost called it a day before the 25% mark, but because it was a story close to his heart I persevered. Perhaps it was an issue with the cadence of the different manners of speech, although this was explained very clearly in the beginning why it was used.
The to and from on the part of Jimmy was so confusing to poor Ren, but I believe the fear of coming out of the closet to be traumatic.
My experience with this book will not stop me from reading more from this author.
I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book.

[Kimberly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fun, sweet with a little angst

Jimmy is smitten with the foreign exchange student that he agreed to help out for the semester. Ren is taken by Jimmy's friendliness and beauty. They bond over common interests and start an easy friendship while hanging out with Jimmy's friends. But Jimmy is deep in the closet and is afraid of his growing feelings for Ren. For the post part this was a fun, sweet story about two men finding love in a homophobic country. There were some really emotional moments as they worked through their feelings. I loved Jimmy's group of friends and Ren's Aunt Daisy was a lot of fun.

[Katy Beth Mckee · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a sweet young adult story. Ren comes from a different world and Jimmy is there to show him around. Ren is used to being himself and as feelings start to develop you see Jimmy having decisions he has to make. Like many things growing up isn’t always easy. I love the way that Rhys lets these men have a HEA which would be much harder in real life. A great read and an interesting looking into live in another part of the world.

[Lisa Klein · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a beautiful updated edition of a story written several years ago. I loved the original story, and it's even better now. Rhys always has a way of bringing his characters to life and enabling the reader to feel immersed in the story. The information about Greece makes me want to go back and visit that beautiful country.

[Mrs.V · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is so cute... I enjoyed it so much
The word that comes to my mind is gentle, although Jimmy has to go trough some inner workings to overcome his misconceptions, there's no exceeding angst and the story flows by with the same relaxed pace of a late spring afternoon in Greece.

[Katie • forevermorepages · Rating 2 out of 5]

for the first book i've finished in a month, this was largely unpleasant, if only for the insta-love and lack of communication.

I'm also curious what the hell went through the author's mind naming this man clarence thomas.

[Sarah · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5🌟

I didn't hate this book but I didn't particularly like it either. It just didn't seem to flow right for my taste, everything felt rushed and I felt like I didn't have chance to get to know the characters.

[Ken Cook · Rating 4 out of 5]

2016 Northern Greece

YA tale set in a semester abroad mileau where the two young men realize their attraction. Set in a university environment, Everly has a cute but brilliant cast while sharing a bit of culture.

[Len · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh.

[ReadToFilth · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a good book, solid world building, believable, and likeable characters.

Worth reading!

[Ian · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh. 😒